HOF Dream appraisal

[sfbayarea]

so we found a HOF dream diamond 1.237 F color VS1 this weekend and it''s a BEAUTY! so much icy sparkle! retail price according to the HOF website is somewhere around $19K but we were able to get a much better price secured for the dream diamond. the store that we are buying from provides a free appraisal upon purchase which they said is really strictly for insurance purposes. is it necessary for us (or beneficial) to get a second appraisal done since we''ve read that dream diamonds simply just appraise for "market price" which is obviously set by HOF? the store also said the appraisal price would not be for $19K but for the price that we are buying the diamond for. wondering if a second appraiser would appraise the diamond for closer to 19 (and if it would make be any benefit for us)?

any recommendations for appraisers in the bay area would be much appreciated as well! thanks a bunch!

 

[newenglandgemlab]

the store also said the appraisal price would not be for $19K but for the price that we are buying the diamond for.

Very sound policy for pricing. Why would you want to pay premiums on a much higher figure? The transaction price is the price you can most likely replace it at. A higher 'feel good' price only costs you in premiums. Cindy

 

[valeria101]

19K sounds quite random: does this include the original Tiffany setting, or what? It does sound quite out of this world to me, even if the issuer of this reference price does not carry any objective responsability for it.

What is the point of appraising for this value as oposed to replacement value? If there is a sound reason, I do not know it and would really appreciate a hint...

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but the numbers are a bit strained, in my opinion.

 

[Caratz]

Jewelry appraisals are often about 80-100% higher than the item's actual market value.

 

[newenglandgemlab]

----------------
On 11/18/2003 12:16:12 PM Caratz wrote:

Jewelry appraisals are often about 80-100% higher than the item's actual market value.----------------

Then they are quite inflated values! You should be using acquisition figures unless you really couldn't replace it at that figure. No sense paying premiums on an amount that is way high. If it is a cash out policy, you will be paying dearly for the coverage. I have noticed quite a few internet stones coming through with very high appraisals from their own appraisers. Does this sound logical? Cindy

Cindy

 

[Mara]

Congrats..the HOF Dream's are great diamonds...but HOLY MOLEY...$19k for a 1.27 F VS quality stone? Get a 2c Regent for the same price!! It's got the same H&A and great light return...hee hee...sorry I just *had* to say it!

I know you noted you aren't paying $19k...but what was the discount? $2k? $3k? Still could get a bigger Regent, then again I'm a size girl..so yanno.

 

[canadiangrrl]

Ditto Mara. The Dream is a nice stone, but that price point is hard to swallow.

 

[Mara]

Oh and for a Bayarea appraisal, Nancy Stacy in Walnut Creek, CA is highly recommended...we used her for our items. Click on 'Appraisers' link above here...and then find her in CA. She usually books a few weeks out so call now. Good luck!

 

[sfbayarea]

thanks for all the prompt responses! i love this place.

so so far it sounds like a higher appraisal price is really not to my benefit due to the higher premium that i'd have to fork out. what i'm worried about is that if my insurance policy is going to pay me cash for the diamond, that i may not be able to replace it for the price that i bought it for since i got a huge discount. i would prefer a policy that would agree to simply replace my diamond with one of like quality but have heard that if one is not available insurance simply pays cash. (i have not done my extensive diamond insurance research yet either so i apologize for my lack of knowledge in this matter. our home insurance is with AAA but i'm not sure if i should go with a seperate policy? heard good things about chubb but don't really know any other companies right now...)

like i mentioned before, retail price is $19k but we are actually buying it for about $14k (a hefty $5k discount!) at first we thought the price was a little high for this particular diamond since i found it at the first store that we visited to see the dream. the retailer did mention to us that the price was in NO WAY negotiable since they already sold HOF for under retail price but they didn't tell us how big the discount was! we put the diamond on hold with a refundable deposit and decided to look around more.

 

[sfbayarea]

but when we visited a second retailer to try to get a better price, we were then quoted the $19k price for a diamond of similiar specs (and boy, were we shocked!) it also turned out to be the exact same diamond because we had already looked at the girdle and seen the number of the diamond! even this second retailer told us to go back and buy the diamond for the price that we had secured. so as of right now, the diamond is still on hold and we have until sunday to pick it up. so that's the whole story, and why i'm very worried that i will not be able to replace the diamond if something happens to it with a cash payout (hence, my question about possibly trying to get a higher apppraisal price). any thoughts now?

also, what should i expect in a complete appraisal of a dream diamond?

mara-thank you for the appraisal referral, i was thinking of using her since i saw her listed and she is close to me (i live in martinez). i noticed that you have been a big supporter of HOF in previous posts and if you want a great place to pick one up at a great price, let me know!

 

[Mara]

Wow a $5k discount is very interesting. I wonder how that vendor is able to discount so heavily, from what I have heard, HOF sets the retail pricing for their stones and if the retailer can deviate, I would think it would only be a small amount, nothing like $5k! That's over 25% off the original price, a huge discount. How is this retailer able to do that and still make a decent profit?

Hope all goes well with the purchase, HOF are beautiful stones...I don't know what would entail a special appraisal for HOF--but I would tell Nancy to appraise it at a realistic amount. This is what we told her to do and she said she does that anyway. So she won't inflate it above the typical retail, but if typical retail is $19k, she will appraise it for around that. She actually asked us what amount we wanted on there...what we paid or her realistic estimate of retail.




That said, I would definitely insure it for $19k, because this MAY be a once in a lifetime deal IF you want another HOF should anything happen to this first stone. This is the first instance I have seen on this board where a HOF dealer will discount that heavily, so I wouldn't count on getting such a great discount next time around. You never know, but as you noted, it would really be disappointing to insure for say $15k, lose the diamond or something, and then only get that $15k payout...only to find that this particular HOF dealer is no longer in business or similar, and you won't even be able to replace your same stone for the same amount. IMO the extra $5k to have the diamond insured for is a small extra amount per year ($50 a year?) for that extra peace of mind. Esp since you are buying a branded stone which may not easily be replaceable at such a high discount.




Good luck!

 

[sfbayarea]

mara- that was the direction i think my thought process was leaning towards but i just wasn't sure as i have never purchased any jewelry insurance before. because this retailer is giving such a huge discount, i sort of have reservations about whether i'm actually getting what they say i'm buying...another reason for me wanting an independent second appraisal (just in case)! but when the second retailer pulled up the same exact diamond, i figured the chances of it being a fake dream diamond were lessened immensely, but i still want to be sure, just for my peace of mind.

btw, i already emailed nancy regarding an appraisal and hopefully she will be able to accomodate me as the store i think has a one week return policy. not counting the extra amount i'll have to pay for a rush appraisal, how much should i expect to pay? and what sorts of things should i pay attention to in an appraisal?

what insurance company would you suggest around here? not sure if i want to/should add it to my AAA home insurance or get a seperate policy? don't really know what the pros/cons are...any words of wisdom?

 

[Rank Amateur]

Make sure your insurance guarantees you another HOF diamond if you have a loss. Otherwise you'll get another well-cut 1.24 F non-HOF for 1/2 the price.